LANGRES AOP

Who needs a flute when your cheese can hold your bubbly for you? Made in Champagne and finished with a concave top designed to hold a bit of the eponymous sparkler, cheesemakers wash each little cow's milk round with brine and then rub it with raccou, a natural colorant derived from a tropical shrub.

The elegantly wrinkled rind adds textural interest and develops a dense cream that is cakey at the core with a luscious creamline and distinctive porcine savoriness. Langres's signature, though, is its concave cap, designed to cradle a splash of terroir-appropriate Champagne. Cut a small slit into the middle to allow the bubbles to transform its demure fudginess into a brioche-laden creambomb.